Coat hanger



F. L. WELCH COAT HANGER May 25, 1954 Filed April 24, 1953 INVENTOR.

BY 0. fiztent Rgen? Patented May 25, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in coat hangers, with particular reference to coat hangers adapted to be suspended on the clothes-bars of closets used for the storage of garments.

An important object of my invention is to provide a coat hanger with a resilient suspension, which can be flexed, expanded and twisted, thereby permitting the convenient deposition and removal of the garment, without the necessity of detaching the coat hanger from the suporting clothes-bar.

Another object of my invention is to provide a coat hanger having a resilient lock, which prevents the accidental falling oif of the coat hanger from the supporting clothes-bar and which, at the same time, permits the convenient attaching and detaching of the coat hanger by the application of a slight pressure on said resilient lock.

Another object of my invention is to provide a coat hanger, in which the said resilient lock is so adjustable that, when desired, it is possible to lock the coat hanger on the clothes-bar, so as to prevent its removal.

A further object of my invention is to provide a coat hanger which combines the above said advantages with great simplicity of construction and a low manufacturing cost.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this application and in which, for the purpose of illustration, are shown a preferred and two modified embodiments of my invention,

Figure 1 is a sectional View of the preferred embodiment of my coat hanger,

Figure 2 is a sectional view of a modified en.- bodiment of my coat hanger,

Figure 3 is a sectional View of another modified embodiment of my coat hanger.

In the drawing, in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same, the numeral i designates the garment holder, which may have any of the customary shapes and may be constructed of wood, metal or plastics or other suitable material.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawing, secured to the garment holder i is a helical spring 2, the upper terminal of which is designated as springend 3. Coaxially disposed within the spring 2 is a stem 4 which, at its upper end, carries a book 5, terminating in hook-end 6. The numeral l designates the clothes-bar the cross-section of which is shown within the hook 5. The

mechanical coupling between the hook 5 and spring 2 is accomplished by means of the sliding member 7 which, as here exemplified, consists of a pin the center of which is secured to the stem 4 and the two halves of said pin extend outwardly between adjacent turns of said spring. The two ends of the pin are secured to a sleeve 8 which surrounds the spring 2.

The sliding member 1 is so constructed that it will slide between adjacent turns of the spring 2 when the stem 4 is rotated and, as a result of this, said stem and the connected hook 5 will advance axially with respect to said spring, the direction of this axial advance depending on the direction of the rotation of the stem.

This function of the sliding member is an essential feature of the present invention because it enables us to regulate the opening of the hook by varying the distance between the spring-end 3 and the hook-end 6, and thereby permits the cooperative function of the spring and the hook as a resilient look. In Fig. 1 of the drawing the gap between the spring-end 3 and the hook-end 6 is so adjusted that it is only slightly smaller than the diameter of the clothes-bar It), so that, by compressing the spring, the clothes-bar can be passed through the gap into or from the hook 5, hence, the spring, combined with the hook, will act as a snap-lock. By turning the stem 4 with respect to the spring 2 the gap between the spring-end 3 and the hook-end 6 can be made so small that the coat hanger cannot be unhooked from the clothes-bar.

The sliding member 1 is slightly thicker than the normal gap between the turns of the spring 2, and also the sleeve 8 fits closely around the spring 2, producing sufficient friction to keep said sliding member in position when the stem 4 is not rotated by external force.

In the modified embodiment, illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawing, the stem 4, which is preferably made of a double wire, is provided with two sliding members 1, obtained by bending the wires of the stem outwardly in opposite directions. After passing through the spring between adjacent turns, these wires are bent and returned between other adjacent turns into the interior of the spring 2.

Another modified embodiment of my invention is shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing, in which the stem 5 carries a single sliding member 7, which extends radially between the adjacent turns of the spring 2 and terminates in a head 53 adapted to guide the sliding member in the spring.

It will be within the spirit of this invention to use sliding members of other shapes and construction than the ones exemplified in my drawing, provided they slide between the adjacent turns of the spring 2 when the stem 4 is rotated with respect to the spring 2.

The operation of my invention is as follows:

In the application of my invention the primary function of spring 2 is to provide a resilient suspension for the coat hanger, which may be easily flexed, stretched and twisted and thereby making it practicable and convenient to place the garment on the coat hanger or to remove same even when the coat hanger remains attached to the supporting clothes-bar of the closet.

The spring 2 has, however, another and equally important cooperative function due to the novel sliding coupling employed between the spring 2 and hook 5. This sliding coupling, by making it possible to vary the opening of the hook, permits the utilization of the spring 2 and the hook 5 as a resilient lock, in the following manner: When it is desired to have the coat hanger detachable from the clothes-bar and, at the same time, to prevent the inadvertent falling off of the coat hanger from said bar, the gap between the spring-end 3 and the hook-end 6 is adjusted to be smaller than the diameter of the clothes-bar ill (see Fig. 1). Then, the said gap, sometimes called the opening of the hook, is pressed against the round clothes-bar. Due to this pressure, the spring-end 3 is forced downward, permitting the clothes-bar to enter into the hook. Thus, the spring and the hook cooperate as a snap-lock. For detaching the coat hanger from the clothesbar a horizontal pull is applied on the hook, forcing downward the resilient spring-end 3. It is essential in this invention that the coat hanger will not be detached from the clothes-bar unless external force is applied on the resilient snaplock. When it is desired to lock the coat hanger permanently on the clothes-bar, the coat hanger is attached to the bar in the manner heretofore described and then the spring 2 is turned until the spring-end 3 closes the opening of the hook 5.

It is to be understood that the forms of my invention, herewith shown and described, are to be taken as preferred examples of same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, Without departing from the spirit of my invention, or the scope of the subjoined claims.

I claim:

1. A coat hanger comprising, a garment holder; a helical spring having one end secured to said garment holder; a hook being adjacent to the other end of said spring; a sliding member slidably disposed between adjacent turns of said spring; means connecting said sliding member with said hook.

2. A coat hanger comprising, a garment holder; a helical spring having one end secured to said garment holder; a stem being disposed within said spring; a hook secured to one end of said stem and being disposed adjacent to the free end of said spring; a sliding member slidably disposed between adjacent turns of said spring and being mechanically connected to said stem.

3. A coat hanger comp-rising, a garment holder; a spring, of substantially helical form, with one end secured to said garment holder; a hook disposed near the free end of said spring and having a stem extending into the interior of said spring; a sliding member, carried by said stem and being slidably disposed between adjacent turns of said spring.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,713,621 Price May 21, 1929 1,817,621 Harding Aug. 4, 1931 2,151,964 Gay Mar. 28, 1939 

